By COLIN CLARK
WASHINGTON: After almost two decades in Hong Kong riding the Chinese economic buffalo, a man little known in Washington is apparently the frontrunner for Navy Secretary in the Trump administration.
One source with deep knowledge of the Navy and GOP politics called the pick of Philip Bilden “f**ing ludicrous.” Another, with similar credentials, called it “crazy.” Bilden has apparently used contributions to the Naval Academy Foundation, Naval War College Foundation and to the GOP, including Mitt Romney’s failed campaign, to build a path of influence into a world he has never operated in. He apparently lives in Newport, R.I., home of the Naval War College, after spending some 20 years in Asia as a top player at HarbourVest Partners.
A board member of the United States Naval Academy Foundation, he has served, appropriately enough, on its development committee. He is also a trustee of the Naval War College Foundation, where he’s helped raise money for its Center for Cyber Conflict Studies. Presumably, these efforts have helped gain him access to senior civilian and uniformed leaders of the Navy. However, he has spent relatively little time in the United States as an adult and, as far as I can tell at this stage, has never worked in the wider military or policy world.
Read the full story at Breaking Defense
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| PacificSentinel |